Published in The Independent (April 7th, 2012) Arriving in Timbuktu after a long, hot journey across the Sahara, you come to a striking monument to peace, with guns […]
Politics
The Tea Party Tories
Published in The Guardian (April 5th, 2012) For all his faults, Tony Blair was an acute observer of the political scene. Surveying events from No 10, he would […]
Drugs / Policy
Even the police think our drugs laws are absurd
Published in the London Evening Standard (April 3rd, 2012) This year marks an unfortunate anniversary. It is 100 years since the first international treaty to control narcotics was […]
Arts / Music
The term ‘world music’ is outdated and offensive
Published in The Guardian (March 23, 2012) Life’s a mashup these days, isn’t it? Not just online but in the real world too. From arts to science, from […]
Economics / Politics
Osborne has sent a missile into six years of Tory modernisation
Published in The Guardian (March 21st, 2012) There was much to admire when this heavily leaked budget was finally delivered: the cut in corporation tax, the lifting of […]
Syria / World
Massacres, emails, and a modern Marie Antoinette
Published in the Daily Mail (March 15th, 2012) Among a stash of emails that emerged yesterday, apparently sent by the Syrian president and his wife, it is the […]
Aid / Europe / European Union / Iceland
Iceland owes us billions. Why on earth is the EU giving millions of our money in aid?
Published in The Daily Mail (March 8th, 2012) For all its recent problems, Iceland remains a prosperous place. Visiting there a few months ago, I was struck by […]
Economics / Politics
Forget mansions and lower the 40p tax band
Published in The Financial Times (March 6, 2012) Every successful leader of the postwar age in Britain has understood a basic truth of politics: success depends on winning […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea
Unesco’s latest attempt to give out dictator’s $3m prize delayed by lawyers
Published in The Guardian (March 5th, 2012) The latest attempt to award a controversial $3m UNESCO prize given by Africa’s longest-ruling dictator has been jeopardised by the organisation’s own lawyers, […]
Africa / Libya
This grave desecration does not mean Libya is out of control
Originally posted in The Guardian (March 5th, 2012) The morning had been spent dodging Muammar Gaddafi’s security stooges and talking to activists planning the uprising that erupted days […]
Politics
Why Dave will miss this hawk in hippy’s clothing
Published in the Daily Mail (March 3rd, 2012) Last week in Downing Street there was a seminar on the future of cities. First a Danish architect spoke of […]
Syria / World
A brave reporter and her passion for speaking the truth
Published in the Daily Mail (February 23rd, 2012) The air was thick with tear gas, angry crowds confronted soldiers aiming bullets at their eyes, and motorcycle ambulances driven […]